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A Similar Fate

A Similar Fate
For centuries humans have used violence and war as a means of solving problems. In the history of the world, wars have been fought over many different reasons such as imperialism and ideological or religious differences. These same few issues have been at the basis of many conflicts in the U.S., therefore it is not surprising that history continues to repeat itself. The Vietnam War and the war in Iraq, for instance, are very similar.   Both wars faced great opposition on the home front, both wars fought against ideological beliefs such as terrorism and communism, and American soldiers in both wars were not equipped to fight guerilla warfare on a foreign land.
The Vietnam War faced incredible opposition at home.   Early protests were organized around the issue of the morality of U.S. military involvement. Many American citizens believed that it was immoral to intervene in Vietnam’s internal affairs and were against the war crimes committed by American soldiers in Vietnam. Antiwar sentiment in the U.S. increased following the Tet Offensive of 1968 in which the Vietcong led by Ho Chi Minh increased the number and intensity of their attacks. Opposition continued to intensify after Johnson's successor, President Richard M. Nixon, escalated U.S. involvement in Vietnam while the war continued to claim increasingly large numbers of U.S. lives.   As seen in Dear America – Letters Home from Vietnam, the Kent State protests were an example of the hysteria on the home front and the extreme anti-war sentiment felt around the country. In November 1969 the My Lai massacre was exposed, causing widespread outrage around the world and leading to increased anti- war feelings.   As time progressed, protests became more prevalent and radical such as the events that occurred at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.   Public discontent over the war in Iraq is similar and has reached a new peak with 63 percent of Americans surveyed saying the United States made a mistake in...